Fritz Kaiser, the Liechtenstein entrepreneur and financial services provider, together with his group of companies, launched the “The Classic Car Trust” initiative at the 2014 Mille Miglia. Under the motto “Aspirin and Champagne” this new sister company of “Kaiser Partner” has set up a Collectors’ Office to look after the administrative, financial and legal needs of classic car collectors, leaving them free to simply enjoy their passion. The Classic Car Trust has simultaneously launched a new mobile internet platform for classic car fans and aficionados, with innovative digital solutions such as the Classic Car Collector App for iPads.

Please visit the news section of The Classic Car Trust for news on classic cars as we will discontinue our Tourbook blog. It was great having you here – now, it’s time to move forward to new, even more interesting ventures!

The classic cars which took part in the Rallye Maroc Classic 2014 are back in their owners’ garages waiting for their next challenge. The video documentary, however, gives those who took part in or followed the unforgettable rally event in Morocco a welcome opportunity to look back and reminisce: relish in watching unique classic cars against the spectacular backdrop of Morocco’s landscape, find out more about the participants and their vehicles, and see what happens behind the scenes at the event.

A race, a rolling museum, a media circus: different people have different views of the modern day Mille Miglia. We prefer to look at the facts and figures of this remarkable event – and leave the interpretation to you. The numbers for 2014′s historic reenactment of the Mille Miglia are certainly impressive:

430 starters from 35 countries were chosen from 619 applications.

Including entourages, there are 1,600 participants

2,000 people, including volunteers, are involved in organizing and running the rally

On the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix 2014 (10.5.2014), RM Auctions presents an auction focused on sports cars. The high density of VIPs visiting the Côte d’Azur around this time makes it a perfect setting for the auction. RM Auctions is offering a spectacular range of unique racing cars and classic high performance sports cars at the prestigious “Le Sporting” event facility in Monaco. The list of cars on sale has not been finalized yet, but there are already several highlights to make the mouth water:

1956 Facel Vega FV2B Coupé: Glamorous but short-lived French carmaker Facel had an American edge. The mixture of luxurious interior, distinctive looks and powerful Chrysler engine attracted countless stars in Hollywood and abroad.

Please click visual below to start slideshow with pictures of some of the lots. All photos courtesy of RM Auctions:

]]>http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/04/fine-selection-of-sports-and-racing-cars-at-rms-monaco-sale-2014/feed/0Paolo Mazzetti on the Mille Miglia in the ’80shttp://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/04/paolo-mazzetti-on-the-mille-miglia-in-the-80s/
http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/04/paolo-mazzetti-on-the-mille-miglia-in-the-80s/#commentsMon, 07 Apr 2014 06:00:23 +0000http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/?p=4294Read on ...]]>Paolo Mazzetti on the Mille Miglia in the ’80s

Dr. Paolo Mazzetti is a veteran of the modern-day Mille Miglia. In the 1980s and ’90s, he participated in the race eight times. Before that – and later on – he worked for the Mille Miglia organization as a press officer and in various other roles. Today, he is the historical expert for the Mille Miglia Archive.

Q: Dr. Mazzetti – what was the Mille Miglia like when you first got involved?

It was another life. The most important difference was that in my first race, all the protagonists of the “real” Mille Miglia, the winners and champions, were still alive. For me as a young man, sitting at the same table for lunch with people like Stirling Moss, Gianni Marzotto and Luigi Villoresi … was incredible. It was a dream event for racing fans.

Q: What highlights do you remember in particular?

There was no speed limit during the early eighties. In ’82 and ’83 this was a real race. And there were just 200 cars, rather than the 400 you see today. I remember when the Italian police accompanied the Prince of Kent in a ’34 or ’35 Aston Martin. They were driving a Alfa Romeo75 and their engine broke. The vintage Aston Martin was just too fast for them.

And I remember “The Bentley Boys”. They had huge cars – double the size and weight of the Bugattis. They used to bet which one of them would be first from Brescia to Rome and back. But back then the participants didn’t care about fancy trappings. Now, we have gala dinners and five star hotels. It’s a different world.

In 1894, newspaper publisher Pierre Giffard organized a competition for vehicles without horses. The 126 km race from Paris to Rouen was an exotic event, featuring cars powered by steam, battery and petrol. Gottlieb Daimler, one of the pioneers of petrol powered engines and a founder of the company now known as Mercedes-Benz, understood that such an event could help promote his innovations; so he visited Paris with his son Paul. The results were more than satisfying for the skilled engineer: places one to four went to vehicles with Daimler engines, in fact nine of the seventeen vehicles that finished were powered by Daimler’s products.

Mille Miglia S.r.l., the company organizing the prestigious classic car event, has presented details of the 2014 rally to a media conference at the Techno Classica tradeshow in Essen. One new feature is that this year’s reenactment of the legendary Italian motorsports event will be expanded to four days, with participants undergoing no less than 80 trials. The program is as follows:

Click on the image below to view the map of this year’s Mille Miglia in contrast to the historic racing routes:

]]>http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/03/mille-miglia-s-r-l-presents-program-for-the-2014-installment/feed/0Elmar Wiederin on the end of the Rallye Maroc Classic 2014: “I’ll be back”http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/03/elmar-wiederin-on-the-end-of-the-rallye-maroc-classic-2014-ill-be-back/
http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/2014/03/elmar-wiederin-on-the-end-of-the-rallye-maroc-classic-2014-ill-be-back/#commentsMon, 24 Mar 2014 09:56:15 +0000http://classic-cars.kaiserpartner.com/?p=4199Read on ...]]>Elmar Wiederin on the end of the Rallye Maroc Classic 2014: “I’ll be back”

Classic car aficionado Elmar Wiederin knows the Rallye Maroc Classic better than most. He has been taking part in this exclusive and exotic classic car event for many years, and after the end of 2014 edition, he gave us his take on the rally.

Q: Mr. Wiederin, you were in the top ten throughout the whole of the Rallye Maroc Classic 2014, even though your Porsche 356 was a little underpowered in some of the trials and the car didn’t always run as well as it might. You must be happy?

Firstly, I’m always happy. I was as happy in this seventeenth running of the rally as I was back in 1998. The technical problems weren’t serious, but twice they almost led to us dropping out of the race and brought us some painful penalty points.

Q: Do you regret either of those incidents?

In the bar in the evening you hear a lot of “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve”. If we didn’t get any penalty points we would have ended up a lot further ahead. But I’m very happy with sixth place. Firstly I am always happy when we arrive savely at the finish line in Marrakech.

Q: Has anything changed now that Cyril Neveu is responsible for the organization?

Cyril Neveu has a hard act to follow. I think the Rallye du Maroc is the most interesting event there is for classic car lovers. Staging such an event is a real challenge.

Q: What will you remember in particular about this year’s rally?

2,300 km of open road and many meals with good friends in the evening. And Morocco of course: a country of unique landscapes and great people. I’ll be back next year.

Victory in the Rallye Maroc Classic went to the home nation for the first time this year, with the Moroccan team of Touhlali and Verger defeating their closest rivals on the very last day. The final challenge took place at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay el Hassan, a race track that hosts part of the WTCC series. While the leaders and Ghistelinck/David (Mercedes Benz Coupé 3.5) affirmed their positions as first and second in the general classification, Mestdagh/Jadot – previously in fourth place – swapped places with Courtens/Courtens to take third.

On the sixth leg of the rally, Cerezo/Cerezo had a problem with their car’s electrical system. They lost around 20 minutes and moved from second position all the way back to 23rd in the general classification. Thoulali/Verger (Porsche 911 T) are still in the lead, followed by Ghistelinck/David (Mercedes Benz Coupé 3.5). Courtens/Courtens in the Morgan 3-wheeler lost one place and are now fourth. Kaiser/Kaiser managed to move further up the top ten and are now seventh in the general classification, followed by Philippe Caroit and Jean Pierre Prevost in the Renault R8 Gordini.